little vs a little / few vs a few — bare = not enough (GiU Unit 87)
The frame
Section titled “The frame”I don’t think Amy would be a good teacher. She has little patience. ✓
Negative frame (wouldn’t be good) → little = not enough. patience = uncountable → little, not few.
The four
Section titled “The four”| countable | uncountable | |
|---|---|---|
| not enough (negative) | few | little |
| some (positive) | a few | a little |
- She has little patience = not enough → bad teacher ✓
- She has a little patience = some, a bit (doesn’t explain “bad”)
- He has few friends = almost none (lonely)
- He has a few friends = some (has company)
Bare (no a) = glass half empty — not enough, complaint. With a = half full — some, at least a bit.
Does the sentence complain/lack? → bare little/few. Does it acknowledge some quantity? → a little/a few.
JP mirror
Section titled “JP mirror”ほとんど〜ない (little/few) vs 少しある (a little/a few).
Source
Section titled “Source”Raymond Murphy, English Grammar in Use, Unit 87 — much, many, a lot etc. Ebot lesson 2026-09-05.